I was depressed much of last summer during treatmen and recovery. I'm not normally someone who gets down about anything so this was a real bummer. The docs wanted to treat it (like everything else I encountered) but I said: "no, I have a good reason to be depressed and if I start to feel better I won't be depressed anymore." Which is exactly what happened. Each patient has to decide for themselves what's the best direction to go.

I should add that I wrote a blog about my experience (http://benscancerfight.blogspot.com). It was great as a way to vent and I didn't pull any punches. It helped.

Right on, Charm! - I think it's ok to mourn a loss and to feel compassion for oneself for what cancer has taken away. Hopefully, the mourning can allow at some point for the more positive thoughts to be given a turn. A journal is a good idea because even if no one were ever to read it, at least you have assigned it a spot - a compartment in your life - that you can revisit if you so choose but that will allow room for life to go on and for more positive thoughts to take hold. I used to keep a list of funny experiences I remembered or pics that made me smile. I especially liked one of the little penguin who gets knocked down but he gets up and keeps on going. And he's still here:

http://webpages.charter.net/xila/favimages.html